This invention generally pertains to clamp assemblies. More specifically, the present invention relates to a clamp assembly in which cooperating tapered surfaces are employed to achieve a desired clamping action.
The invention is particularly applicable to a clamp assembly used for securing a subsea electrohydraulic control module to an undersea base or platform. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that the invention has broader applications and may be adapted for use in many other environments, e.g., clamping two components together in a surface environment or in an air-borne environment.
In the drilling of offshore oil wells, it is common practice to convey various components to the well location upon a floatable barge or other support structure. At the desired location, the barge is submerged or the support structure otherwise fixedly located with respect to the well location to provide a stable platform for lowering some of the components to the ocean floor. When the barge or support structure is correctly positioned, various parts, such as wellhead protective jackets and production platform parts, can be lowered to the ocean floor and fixed in place at the well locations. Components for other undersea uses, such as ocean bottom communication cables or anti-submarine listening devices, are also lowered through the ocean and secured to the ocean floor.
During the process of lowering a subsea electrohydraulic control module to a base or platform already fixed to the ocean floor, the control module is lowered into a box-type landing base through the top. The control module is then accessible through an opening at the lower front portion of the landing base. At this point, the module needs to be secured to the base since there otherwise is a chance that it could move about the base while the electrical and hydraulic connections are being made. Such movement could be caused by machine vibrations or by water current.
A diver or a remotely operated vehicle generally is used to secure the control module to the base. Both the diver and remotely operated vehicle, however, have only a limited ability to maneuver bulky objects or to make intricate connections under water. The knowntype of control module clamp assembly suffers from the problem that it is difficult to use due both to its weight and its complexity.
It has been considered desirable, therefore, to provide a clamp assembly which would be easy to work with under water by being of a lighter weight construction and simpler design than the known control module clamp assemblies. The subject invention is believed to overcome the foregoing difficulties and others, and provides the desired features and capabilities absent from prior control module clamp assemblies.